English Woes

[pp.]

(The Name of the Rose mangled my brain)... Jules Verne

The Name of the Rose is a translation from Italian and Jules Verne wrote in French. I would advise to stick to texts which originally have been written in English, if keeping up with English is the objective. Otherwise, both Eco and Verne make fine reading.

[LaRoza]

It's been an year, and college has been killing me. I have a stack of unread novels which I'm just too tired to delve into. Whenever I get free time, which is rare, I prefer to pop in a DVD of Scrubs, Family Guy or South Park (these shows aren't telecast on TV in India) and just relax. As a result, my writing has slowly been getting worse. I sit there at the keyboard, knowing exactly *what* to write, but I need to spend at least 15 minutes thinking about *how* to write it. The words have just stopped coming out well.

Read and write. Set regular schedules for watching those DVD's. Don't watch them randomly.

Q1. How do I improve the way I write?

By writing

Q3. Any free reading material online that can help me improve my style?

Good will get you more specific style guides. What exactly type of writing are you interested in?

Q4. If you have a blog and update it regularly, please post the link here. I want to see what other people are writing about. I can't keep writing about how much I rock and how much other people suck all the time.

Blog in sig, but I don't post often in it.

[chucky chuckaluck]

In order for that to work, it has to be 'good' English, not the broken kind used in this forum or in technical reading matters. Listening to radio or tv where 'genuine' English is spoken might help.

yup, learn from the best, not the worst.

[samjh]

Q1. How do I improve the way I write?
Q2. I read many tech blogs everyday. Are there any literary blogs I can read?
Q3. Any free reading material online that can help me improve my style?
Q4. If you have a blog and update it regularly, please post the link here. I want to see what other people are writing about. I can't keep writing about how much I rock and how much other people suck all the time.

Q1: You're already writing well. Reading novels from famous writers can help.
Q2: Not sure.
Q3: http://www.lib.uts.edu.au/informatio.../writing_style
Q4: LOL, sorry I don't have a blog.

[LaRoza]

yup, learn from the best, not the worst.

Actually. reading things done wrong (if they are pointed out) is a good way to learn.

Obviously, random forum posts is not the answer, but good instruction can be received from knowing what its wrong and how to avoid it.